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I do not own these characters or this world that Suzanne Collin's has created. But thanks for letting me borrow them for a while.

CHAPTER 7: PLANS IN MOTION

Katniss sat in her chair staring at the embers left from her late night fire. It was getting warmer during the day so she now only lit the fire during the late-evenings. She actually found herself up and pacing around the kitchen during the day. Sometimes she would stop and stare out the kitchen window toward the woods. She would close her eyes and feel the breeze on her face, hear the wind rustle the leaves on the trees and contemplate all the sounds that exist in harmony with nature. But when she opened her eyes reality was waiting to take hold of her again.

What was Gale doing out there? Probably going swimming today. It was turning out to be hot and humid and on days like this they had always left time to cool off in the stream. Maybe he was hunting? She wondered how he was doing without her there to help him. "Apparently fine," she huffed. He brought home food everyday.

She stamped her foot and turned away from the window. "Damn him."

He would come in every morning and gulp down his breakfast and as he was leaving he would throw over his shoulder, "going hunting. Want to come?"

"No," she would say with more determination than she really felt.

"Okay. See ya tonight." He would practically run out the door and off the porch.

Katniss would roll her eyes and plop down in her chair.

Greasy Sae would shake her head and say, "why don't you go with him? You know you want to."

Katniss would turn and glare at her until she turned back to the dishes.

Everyday Greasy Sae would tell Katniss, "I put fresh clothes in the bathroom and brought down some of those bottles of... stuff... from the upstairs bathroom if you would like to get cleaned up today."

Katniss would just glare at her until she headed out the door saying, "I left a plate in the oven for you. Goodbye, I'll see you tonight."

And Haymitch, he hadn't come around since that night. She knew he was keeping away because he didn't want to answer any of her questions. She should just march right down to his house and... and... beat it out of him. "Damn old drunken goat," she huffed.

She resumed her pacing around the kitchen. Stopping in front of the bathroom door she wondered if maybe she should take a bath the last time she had was... on the train and she had no idea how long ago that was. She looked into the bathroom, raised her eyebrows in confusion and said out loud to herself, "bottles of stuff?"

She went in and picked up some of the bottles. There were bottles of shampoo, conditioner and soaps that her style team had brought for her to use. Katniss picked up the last bottle, looked at it then dropped it on the floor. She turned and went back to her chair by the fire, wrapped the blanket tightly around herself and began to rock back and forth while another memory pierced her eyes.

She saw Prim excited to be here in their new house. It was the first night and they were all in the bathroom standing by the tub. Katniss showed Prim how to work the knobs on the wall. "See you turn this one and cold water runs out." Prim put her hand under the water with big eyes and laughed.

"This one should be hot water." Prim held out her hand. "Be careful. It's hot." Katniss had warned her.

"How?" Prim said with confusion. "We don't have to heat the water on the stove?"

Katniss laughed. "Nope. And we don't have to carry it and dump it when we're done. You just pull the plug and it drains away."

"Wow!" Can I take a bath now?" Prim asked her mother.

"Well, that's a first time." Their mother smiled. "Sure." She looked at Katniss. "Something tells me we're never going to get her out of the tub." They both laughed while Prim knelt down and put her hands under the warm running water.

"I have one more surprise for you. This is something else I brought back with me. Here!" She handed a pink bottle to Prim.

Prim read the bottle, "bubble bath?"

"Yeah, bubble bath... here." Katniss poured a small amount of flower scented bubble bath into the tub. "You put a little in while the water is running and you get BUBBLES! See?!"

Prim watched with fascination as a mound of bubbles grew in the bottom of the tub. Breaking out in a fit of giggles she hung over the edge and swished her hands around churning the water to create a mountain of fluffy bubbles. Then she jumped up and stripped out of her clothes, tossed them all over the bathroom floor and practically dove into the tub, disappearing under a mass of airy white.

Katniss and her mom were laughing so hard they had tears running down their cheeks.

"I think you're right," Katniss said. "The next time we see her she's going to be one big pruney wrinkle." Katniss gathered the clothes and put them in the laundry basket.

They watched her splash around for a while longer then their mother grabbed a washcloth and a bar of soap and handed them to Prim. "Here young lady. If you are going to splash around in that tub at least scrub the dirt off." She smiled and winked at her.

Prim loved that tub and she became the cleanest kid in all of District Twelve. If she could, she would take a bath every night and every morning. It didn't matter how rushed for time or tired she was. Katniss remembered one time having to go in and get Prim out of the tub because she was nodding off.

Katniss chided her as she grabbed a towel to wrap around her little sister. "Really, Prim you could drown yourself."

Prim just smiled through drowsy eyes mumbling about bubbles while Katniss guided them to Prim's room. After she dried her off and put a clean nightgown on her, Katniss tucked her into bed then leaned over to kiss her forehead and murmured, "sweet dreams little duck." She added in a whisper, "maybe it's time I take you down to the lake and teach you how to swim."

Katniss stood in the doorway watching her little sister sleep, thinking what a wonderful feeling it was to be able to give her little sister something that could bring her so much joy. The smallest of gifts could mean the most when you had nothing before.

Katniss rocked herself back and forth in her chair the rest of the afternoon the scene with Prim in the tub playing over and over in her head.

When Greasy Sae came through the kitchen door that evening, she knew something had happened. Sae stopped in her tracks and watched Katniss rock back and forth in her chair. Crap. This was almost like those first weeks after she had returned from the Capitol. What the hell had happened now? She was doing so much better these last few weeks. She was eating and even getting out of that damn chair to pace around the kitchen. Sae sighed and walked over to set the grocery bags down on the table.

What happened? Gale wasn't around and Haymitch had left for the Capitol a few hours ago. She knew he hadn't been down to see Katniss because he was doing his best to avoid her. She spilled the contents of her bag on the table and several potatoes fell off the edge, bouncing and rolling toward the open bathroom door. Sae sighed and then went to retrieve her wayward potatoes. She picked up a few off the kitchen floor then went into the bathroom to round up a couple more. While she was in there she picked up a pink bottle lying on the floor next to the toilet. She read the label on the bottle out loud, "bubble bath."

Katniss turned to look at Sae with her face scrunched up in pain. "Get rid of it."

"Okay." Greasy Sae took the bottle outside and stared at it. "Why?" She rubbed her forehead. "Bubble bath?" She opened the bottle and smelled the flowery scent then it dawned on her. "Damn." She would bet a whole week's worth of rations that this had something to do with Prim.

She sighed and set the bottle down on the porch. "One step forward, two steps back. Damn it!" She huffed, then turned and went back into the house to make supper. A supper that she knew from experience would go uneaten tonight.

She tried her best to coax Katniss over to the table to eat but she was lost in her own world again. So Sae cleaned up and put two plates in the oven: one for Kaniss and one for Gale when he got back from hunting or whatever the boy was doing these days. He ran out after eating breakfast and came home after she had left every night. She wanted to ask him what he was up to but she could never pin him down and get him alone.

"I put plates in the oven for you and Gale." Katniss just stared into her fire watching bubbles go up in flames.

Greasy Sae shook her head and said with an exasperated sigh, "good night, I'll see you in the morning." She closed the door quietly behind her and headed home.

Gale was working on his plan to get Katniss' down to the lake by fixing up the little cabin and making it livable. He knew they were going to need time and space to heal and grow to trust each other again and the little cabin by the lake made perfect sense. They both came alive in the woods and the little cabin had so many comforting memories for her. Maybe they could both draw on the strength and comfort the lake offered and help each other heal. He wished... he hoped!

He hated to take anyone down there with him... it felt like he was betraying Katniss's trus but he wanted to get the cabin done as fast as possible. So he asked two of his buddies to help him with the construction. He had known both of these guys all of his life and they had worked on the same crew down in the mines. He trusted them and knew they would never do anything to hurt or betray Katniss.

Gale was able to borrow one of the construction hovercrafts to transport the discarded remnants from the reconstruction that he had commandeered. They tore down and rebuilt most of the walls and added a small bathroom off the back of the cabin. They had to dig a huge pit for the 'borrowed' incinerating toilet and the piping for the tub to drain into. They put a roof on and laid flooring down and added a couple of windows. Then they added a sink and indoor pump for water in the kitchen area. They would have to pump the water in the kitchen, heat it in the fireplace and carry it to the tub. But they just had to pull the plug to drain it. He thought Katniss would like that.

Gale also spent several days putting up some shelves and a few cupboards to store the dishes and food items he had been bringing down over the last several weeks. He planned on building a table and a couple of benches out of the wood that was left but figured he would do that when he finally got her down here. They had slept on the ground when they had made trips down here before so for now they would just sleep on the floor of the cabin. Later on he could build them a bed. He smiled at that thought, hoping that there would come a time that they would finally be together. Hope, he thought, is such a powerful thing. And he had hope now... he knew as long as he had hope anything was possible.

Today he spent the better part of the day trying to find the primrose bushes Katniss had showed him on their first trip to the lake. She had shared with him the story her dad had told her about the day Prim was born. Her dad had come down here to fish and gather some plants when he had found these bushes. He had picked her mother a huge bouquet of primroses for a surprise. Katniss had laughed when she told him that apparently her mother was so surprised by the flowers that she went into labor and that was how Prim got her name.

Gale was going to plant some of the primrose bushes around the edge of the cabin. He knew that Katniss kept all the special memories of her father here and he hoped that seeing these bushes would help her keep the precious memories of Prim here alongside that of their father's.

He was proud of the work that they had done on the cabin and was sure Katniss would love it. For the first time since coming back to Twelve he was sure, deep down inside that Katniss could heal and she would remember him... who he really was... not the monster he became.

He bound up the porch and into the kitchen ready to convince Katniss to come with him tomorrow but he stopped cold in his tracks when he stepped through the door. Katniss was sitting in front of her fire again rocking back and forth. He knew something bad must have happened today. Damn it. He knew he wouldn't be able to get through to her tonight... maybe not for days, depending on how bad the memories were.

Gale stood there debating... should he confront her now or let her deal with these memories in her own way? No, she had to start confronting things and the sooner she did the sooner she could get on with her life. Gale squared his shoulders and stepped forward into the kitchen.

Katniss sat staring at the flames, seeing Prim on fire in a tub full of bubbles. She squeezed her eyes shut and became slowly aware of a presence in the room. She turned and jumped when she saw Gale standing inside the front door. Damn him and his walk.

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"What do you want?" she demanded.

Gale came into the kitchen. "I was wondering... well... I could use some help bringing food into the Hob. And I thought... you could go hunting with me tomorrow. Then we could go down to the lake."

The lake. It had been so long... the lake is where she kept all the special memories of her father. She would always go there whenever she needed to gather peace of mind and strength to go on, and she could use that now. She closed her eyes and thought how wonderful it would be to go there to swim in the lake and sit in front of the fireplace in the evening. She opened her eyes and stared at him... the person who took Prim away from her. "Why would you think I would want to go to the lake with you?"

"Katniss... You told me once that the lake was a special..."

"Don't! You have no right to even be there anymore." She stood up and stared at him.

"Katniss..." Gale could see the growing storm and tried to head it off.

"NO! I mean it. I should have never taken you there. Never!" She stepped around the table and faced him head on.

"I..." Gale shifted but stood his ground.

"I should be taking her there. I should be sharing things with her." She walked toward him. "But because of you," she spat out. "I will never be able to teach her how to swim. I will never be able to share memories of dad with her."

"Katniss, I know. But she would want - "Gale began.

"NO! You don't get to tell me what she would want." Her eyes turned a stone grey color as she pointed her finger at him, "ever!"

"Okay." Gale held his hands up. "Okay. But... I loved her too!" he declared.

Katniss walked up to him and slapped him across the face. "Really?! Then why did you kill her?"

Gale stood his ground and looked into Katniss's stone grey eyes. Shaking his head he said firmly, "I couldn't kill Prim anymore than I could kill Posy. You KNOW that's true Katniss."

Katniss reached up to slap him again but Gale caught her wrist and pulled her into his arms. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, holding her while she struggled against his chest, twisting and turning while yelling, "LET ME GO. LET GO. DAMN YOU! GALE..."

Gale held on tight trying not to hurt her. Telling her over and over, "everything will be okay."

Slowly she stopped struggling and with her final words, "no... it won't," she went limp in his arms. He stood there for a long time stroking her hair and holding her close to his heart while he rocked back and forth on his feet, just like he used to do with Posy when she was small.

Katniss knew she was being weak but right now she didn't care. It felt safe to be wrapped in Gale's arms; arms that were strong and sure but could be soft and giving also. She pressed her face into his chest and cried silent tears. She knew he loved Prim. He was right. She knew that he couldn't hurt Prim anymore than he could hurt Posy. Right? Doubt began to press in on her memories. But he did. She was gone. Killed right in front of her eyes. Katniss put both her hands on his chest and pushed away from him. Gale let his hands fall to her waist. Their eyes met. Both had Seam grey eyes and both had tears running down their cheeks.

Katniss stepped back out of arms reach. She turned and went back to her chair by the fire.

Gale stood there for a few more minutes then he wiped the tears off his face with his hands and went out to the porch and laid down on his sleeping bag.

"Soon, Katniss Everdeen. Soon. I will take you down to the lake even if I have to throw you over my shoulder and carry you all the way there," he whispered.

Thanks for reading!

Yeah Gale and Katniss are finally starting to move toward one another.

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